Field of the Invention
Proper in-furrow insecticide/fungicide and seed placement is an important problem which faces growers during the planting season. The problem includes application of toxic systemic insecticides and/or fungicites in close proximity to seeds as the seeds are expelled in spaced relationship in furrows created by the seed planter, to minimize attach by organisms such as thrips. Proper placement of the insecticide/fungicide directly in the furrows is crucial to avoid environmental damage, and effective location with respect to the seeds helps to avoid seed damage and positions the insecticide/fungicide in a position such that young emerging roots of the germinated seed are able to contact the treatment material, pick it up and translocate it. When the insecticide/fungicide is spaced too far from the seeds, the emerging roots are able to pick up less of the material, resulting in inadequate protection for the growing plant. It is accepted by experts in the agricultural field that either the tap root or the feeder roots springing from the germinating seeds must be in the insecticide/fungicide material to effect optimum protection of the plant.
It has also been found that streaking insecticide or fungicide in the field is environmentally abusive and a waste of money, since many of the insecticide/fungicide materials are toxic and expensive, making proper placement of the insecticide/fungicide in the furrows with respect to the seed at each seed deposition highly important. Improper seed insecticide/fungicide placement results in the requirement of additional expensive folier application and increases the expense of the crop, as well as the risk to the environment.
Conventional planting devices are fitted with both seed distribution tubes and insecticide tubes, the seed distribution tubes being used to uniformly deposit seeds in spaced relationship in furrows created by the planter and the insecticide tubes utilized to distribute insecticide and/or fungicide in the furrows in close proximity to each seed before the seed and insecticide/fungicide are covered with earth by the planter. In a typical application, the seed and insecticide/fungicide are sufficiently spaced to optimize the desired protective effects of the insecticide/fungicide on the seeds and the plants emerging from the seeds. However, far too often the insecticide/fungicide is not accurately delivered to the furrows and may be spilled randomly in the earth adjacent to the furrows, where it presents a danger to the environment and fails to properly treat the germinating seeds.